Getting to her fifth ear infection just wasn’t fun for her or a great way to spend time taking her to the doctor for a little lady, so basically we had 1 option left which was taking her to a specialist. We took her to a specialist a few weeks ago and the doctor was nice enough but really within 5-10 minutes and $200 later (I’m in the wrong business) it was decided that within the space of 5 months she has had 5 ear infections so with my mathematical ability – that is well lots really! The prognosis was either have grommets inserted or she could go on for another year and a half having ear infections. Hmm I’m sure that is beneficial for her, so we threw caution into the wind and decided on the lesser of two evils – grommets.

“What are grommets” I hear you say! Well think of a very small tube that gets inserted in to the middle ear, and is generally used when children have ear infections and therefore cant drain away excess fluid! ... read more >>

As a father of four, three of which are young teens, finding, deciding and negotiating activities for all three to participate in together has been a real strain on not only my creative side but also on my negotiation skills.

I have had conversations with many other fathers as well; this is clearly a common issue for many fathers...”what can I do with my children?” they are always saying “I’m bored” or “what can we do now?”...
I have found it’s not so much the ‘what’, but the how to come to a compromise that requires more effort and energy on my part. If my children had their way every time, we would spend close to $100 going to the movies, then a further $20 playing video games, then another $30 - $40 on takeaways. Not only is it expensive for me, it also offers no quality or creative time for me. ... read more >>

Since becoming an at-home Dad, I have taken it upon myself to save money by doing things around the house for which I would have previously hired a professional. I am now considering several home improvement projects. The first was installing new toilets.

Improving one's home by one's self should be carefully measured. From my days as the service manager at my family's garage, one concept stands out: it is one thing to change a part, it is another to diagnose a problem and then repair to solve that problem. ... read more >>

Here's a little idea to make a unique door sign for your baby - use cross stitching. It's very easy to do. All you need is a piece of even weave linen or wool (you can also use "cotton aida cloth" which you can get in most fabric shops or just order it online), a number of threads with different colors (you can use any odd thread as long as it's not too thick) and a good needle (not too small). If you want to get really advanced you can also use a "hoop" or "scroll" which will make stitching evenly easier. ... read more >>

Do you also get pamphlets and brochues advertising some hideous bronze casts of baby feet, hands or most recently baby bottoms (?!?) The baby casting companies are out there to get us ... there are generally two types I found. The ones trying to sell you a DIY casting kit (which is not cheap for what it is) and the ones that do the full service for you (which costs an absolute fortune). So I thought - bugger that and came up with an equally aesthetic option that cost me 5 Cents.

Check it out!

... read more >>

It's time for "back to black" I thought when I realised that our little man wakes up and stays up whenever it gets light in his room (which at the moment is around 6am). We've got one of those roof windows / skylights with a roller blind in front of it which doesn't really block out daylight. So even with the blind down it's very bright in his room in the mornings.

Time for a little DIY action I thought - I had a look round for suitable solutions and in the end decided that a bit of spare cardboard would do the trick. With card board you've basically got 2 options - it's either thick enough so it can be wedged in the window frame (if you cut it just slightly bigger than the inner frame) OR you can use double sided tape to stick it to the window. Either solution worked for me but this is definitely where "measure twice cut once" is a usefule rule! You don't want the gap between the cardboard and window too big ... never seizes to amaze me how much light can come through a tiny gap. On the other hand if it's too big you won't be able to wedge it in and it will fold somewhere. So a bit of precision is required. I found that using a good carpet cutter and a wooden slat (as a ruler) is best for precision cutting. ... read more >>

For Christmas this year I was able to witness some real DIY-ing for children as displayed by a good friend of mine who made an “oven / stove” for his 3-year old. He made it out cardboard boxes, CDs and various other bits and pieces that he found in the house. What a great idea to use some of this stuff to actually MAKE a present – recycling at its best.

Tomas absolutely loves his present, “made by dad” and can be seen cooking up all sorts of exciting dishes in his new oven. I think it’s a great example of making something out of nothing with a little inspiration. Also it goes to show that kids don’t necessary look at toys the same way we do.

If you want to recreate this particular master piece of DIYing you just need:
* a reasonably big card board box
* some old CD’s (or anything by “The Hoff” or “Engelbert”)
* drink caps
* and a few metal screws and nuts ... read more >>

This simple shelf is perfect for installation high on a bedroom wall for kid's knick-knacks. Anyone with kids knows that if this shelf was lower it would be empty! It's perfect for dolls, stuffed animals or models…anything you want to show off and keep safe. The secret to this shelf is it's mounting system. To start make a shelf from a 1x4 or 1x6 pine board with the edge dressed, and then stained or painted. Our shelf has a routed edge.

Now the secret! To mount this shelf to the wall use right angle brackets on the top!. The 3" size brackets will hold just about anything you can put on this shelf. Space the brackets in increments of 16",32",or 48" to match your stud spacing. Two brackets are enough for anything but a very long shelf. To determine where to place the brackets keep reading! ... read more >>

Materials:
1 small water bottle with cap
assorted plastic bottles, cans and small boxes
rice
cup
masking tape
scissors
newspapers
bowl
spoon
flour
water
acrylic paint
brushes
shellac
sandpaper
1 stick candle
baubles
white glue

1. Cut the top off of the small water bottle. Safety Alert: Always be careful when using scissors!

2. Pour the rice inside the open bottle. Turn the bottle top upside down and put it in the bottle with the rice and tape it closed.

3. Tape your rice filled bottle to the other bottles and cans. Tape a small cardboard box or a twisted roll of newspaper to the bottom for a base.

4. Tear narrow strips of newspaper.

5. Mix the paper mache mixture as follows: 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. ... read more >>

A simple building project your child will enjoy participating in.

Materials Needed:
* 2- 2x2x8'
* 1- 2x4x 12"
* 2- 3/8" x 4" Hex Head Bolts
* 3/8" Dowel piece 4" long
* Small rubber cups (used to protect floor from table legs)

Note: It would be nice to simply buy one 2x4x8' and rip it in half, but 2x4 timber will almost always bow after being cut.

1. Select 2x2 timber with smooth rounded edges if possible. Choose the straightest possible pieces. Pressure treated timber is acceptable if you cannot locate standard 2x2. Sand edges and ends.
The steps will be cut from a 12"- 2x4 piece. The 12" piece of 2x4 timber can be scrap, and it could be cut from a piece larger than 2x4 if necessary. ... read more >>